Another summer day
by Amii-chan719
Summary: Theres always work to be done at SPR, will Mai be stuck in the office all day on this perfect summer day?


The ever present sound of cicadas was the only noise Mai could hear in the otherwise quiet office of SPR. Although the office had central ac to combat the heat of Japan, Mai still yearned to crack open the window to feel the summer breeze. Glancing up at the clock for the tenth time that evening, Mai rolled her eyes. It had felt like ten minutes had passed since the last time she had glanced at the clock and it still was only 2:43 pm. The doors to Naru and Lin's office remained shut, like always, leaving Mai to fight off her boredom alone. As if the two stoic men would even bother to amuse her during work hours. Or any hour actually. Maybe Naru would ask her for tea soon to break, and maybe just maybe she'd get permission to leave work early. Mai brightened up at the thought of leaving early, it wasn't too hot out today, and if Masako or Yasu were available, they could hit up the new cafe down the street for some refreshing ice cream. It had been a while since she had seen the rest of the SPR gang as they hadn't received a new case worthy of their time.

"Mai! Tea!" Aha! There was the sweet sound of release!

"Hai!"

Jumping up from her seat, she all but sprinted to the kitchen. While she waited for the water to boil, Mai opened the tea cabinets to decide which flavor to serve prince Naru. Black tea or green tea? Hmmm…. Earl grey it is, like always. Mai arranged the tray nicely, and balancing it on one hand walked up to the door, raising her free hand to deliver a gentle knock.

"Come in."

The office was dark despite how sunny it was outside. Naru had closed the blinds, and the only other source of light came from his computer. Mai set the tray down as she raised an eyebrow as his stare never wavered from the screen.

"Ahem" No response. "Ahem!"

"Do you need some water to clear your throat? Perhaps a cough drop so you can stop making that wretched noise."

"Well excuse you, your royal highness! I'm perfectly fine!"

"So what was with the unnecessary noise?"

"Hmph! I wanted to get your attention but you were too busy burning the computer screen with your devil eyes."

"Are you so desperate for my attention that you faked being sick?" Naru finally tore his eyes away from the screen to meet Mai's own gaze.

"Desperate? Faking? As if I need your attention! I just had a question you jerk."

"So? What is it? You're wasting time when you should be working,"

.

.

.

"Well? I don't have all day"

Mai narrowed her eyes at her boss. _Just look at him, acting so smug as he hides behind his tea… no way was she going to keep falling for his obvious baits. I will go out for ice cream, wait for Masako! Yasu!"_

Taking a deep breath Mai slowly began, "Well.. you see… I've finished my work for today and since there doesn't seem to be anything else since we haven't taken a case in a while and again I finished my work…. CanIpleaseleaveworkearlytoday?"

Naru stared at her for what felt like an eternity

"No" He swiveled back to staring at the computer and just like that he had crushed Mai's hopes and dreams.

"Why not?"

"Because I said so."

Mai stomped her foot, "That's not good enough! I need a reason! I told you mine, I've finished all my work and now there's nothing left to do"

"Well now that you say that, there is something you can do. While you were busy texting Masako and Yasu I assume, I was actually busy working. There's a potential case in Hokkaido, I need you to read over the case file and take notes on the witness statements."

Mai's jaw dropped. He must've been holding on to that case file for this moment. It's like Naru was always two steps ahead of her.

"Ugh!"

* * *

A good hour later, Mai leaned back and stretched her arms out. The current case file Naru had given her was turning out to be very interesting. A woman recently came into a rather large inheritance by her estranged father. Upon moving into the home, paranormal phenomenons began to occur almost immediately. Strange noises, objects being moved around, bad odors lingering in specific areas, and members of the family waking up within an hour of each other starting at midnight and ending at sunrise. Mai rubbed her eyes and stared at her notes, this was going to be a good one. A sudden noise caused her to sit up straight.

Naru has just opened his office door, one eyebrow slightly raised at Mai's defensive pose. Her face turned a slight shade of pink, and she lazily waved her notes to fan herself.

"Has the heat done something to your brain?"

"Why can't you ever say a nice thing to me?"

"Maybe if you give me a reason to compliment you. As of right now, I see no need." Mai stuck her tongue out at him at his comment.

"Whatever! It's not my fault you couldn't let me go out for ice cream! Now this perfect day has been ruined, only you work-aholics wouldn't go out to enjoy summer."

"Hm." Naru strode out of the office building, with one last glance towards Mai.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Too late, the door had already closed. "Of course I can't leave but Naru can go out willy nilly." She pouted her lips and leaned her cheek on her hand. There was some strawberry mochi at home, so maybe the day wouldn't end so badly.

_Tick_

_Tock_

_Tick_

_Tock_

Mai slammed her head on her desk, internally screaming. It had seemed like hours had gone by since Naru left to who knows where. Lin still hadn't come out of his office, typical considering how often he muted out Naru and Mai. She rolled her head on the table, her brown locks partially covering her face. She stared at the door, waiting for her boss to return. A few moments later her wish was granted. The slight jingle of the bell forced Mai to shoot up from her slumped position.

"Just where have you been all this time?"

Naru said nothing in return and pulled something out of the plastic bag on his arm, which Mai had failed to notice.

"Here."

She reached forward and was surprised to see that Naru had handed her a wrapped orange creamsicle. It was one of her favorite ice creams, and was pleased that Naru had remembered. It caused her heart to race just a tiny bit faster.

"Thank you"

Naru grabbed a popsicle for himself and left the bag on her desk. Mai could see that there were a few extra treats in there, perfect for combating the heat on this summer day.

"If all you wanted was ice cream, you should've said so. There's no need for you to leave the office." And with that, Naru retreated back to his office. If Mai hadn't been watching him so intensely, she would've missed that small smile that graced his face. Her face was bright red, and she was glad that Naru hadn't turned around. It hadn't been long since he had returned from England, but was happy that since their conversation about his brother, her confession, and ultimately their relationship, that he had been showing his feelings through his actions. Even if they had agreed to be friends for now, Mai was nonetheless happy to know that his actions spoke louder than words.

After all, it was just another summer day.


End file.
